— I'm not from this world, but from another world.

— This world, you, your family, your friends, all the details, everything is just a game.

"…!"

Hans woke up from his sleep.

"Huff… huff… huff…"

His body was drenched in sweat while the room temperature wasn't hot.

Wiping away the sweat that was still on his forehead, he stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the night city outside.

At this moment, Hans no longer felt sleepy.

Lately, those two sentences kept appearing in the protagonist's dreams.

Forcing him to wake up immediately.

Although the lack of sleep didn't have much of an effect on Hans, after all, his current rank was Ascender, and he had stayed up many nights in his previous life, those seemingly harmless words still made his heart ache.

Honestly, those two words alone caused more damage than all the damage he had suffered in his previous life.

Was this world just a game?

And everything that was happening was just part of the plot?

"Hah…"

Thinking of this, Hans couldn't help but laugh bitterly.

It was a truth that he couldn't accept.

If a normal person knew that the world he was living in was just a game, then that person would probably just say:

"Oh, is that so? Okay, I see."

He wouldn't have much of a special reaction.

But, Hans was different.

Because if that were the case, then wouldn't everything that happened to the protagonist in his previous life just be part of a pre-made script?

If this wasn't a game, would Hans have to go through those tragedies?

Would his family die of a terminal illness?

Would Hans have to die and then regress?

Ah, no.

Would this character named Hans Varun exist and then have to endure those hardships?

A series of questions kept appearing in the protagonist's mind.

It felt… heavy.

And it was also uncomfortable that he couldn't get even a single answer.

"Sigh."

Then, the protagonist's ruby ​​eyes coldly glanced at the people below.

Everyone was walking with friends, and all of them had bright smiles on their faces.

They looked so… happy.

That reminded Hans of the time he spent with Kael.

At that time, the protagonist also felt extremely joyful.

After many days of thinking, Hans's mind became more comfortable and clear.

Thanks to that, he was able to think about everything more thoroughly.

And then, the protagonist realized that he had blamed Kael wrongly.

Kael was a good person, he had never taken advantage of Hans.

At first, in order to receive help from the protagonist, Kael was forced to sell everything to cure his family's illness.

Thanks to Kael, Hans' mother and sister were able to continue living.

That was not taking advantage.

That was cooperation.

In addition, although he knew very well what would happen in the future, Kael had never used that ability to do evil.

Kael was a good person.

Someone who always tried to save as many people as possible.

"...I want to apologize to him."

Hans wanted the two of them to become friends again.

But at the same time…

"I can't do that."

The protagonist knew his friend's nature too well.

Kael would definitely still hide many things from Hans.

Silently enduring, trying to solve everything by himself.

It was not necessarily a bad thing, but the protagonist would feel useless if Kael did that.

He wanted to join forces with him.

He wanted to share the burden with him.

So, Hans would take advantage of this time to force Kael to change.

"Just wait and see, Kael. I will do it. That's for sure."

The protagonist never said he was a brainless person who only knew how to slaughter.

He could be considered an extremely intelligent person.

Because otherwise, how could Hans have gone all the way to the 99th floor with just absolute power in his previous life?

But because Kael had taken up too much of the stage, the protagonist didn't have much of a chance to show himself.

But this time, things would be different.

Hans would no longer be a pawn for everyone to manipulate.

This time, he would become a player.

***

It had been many days since Kael and Hans had turned against each other.

But up until now, he still hadn't noticed any change from the protagonist.

It was as if Hans had no intention of forgiving Kael.

It was as if Hans had decided that he would never be friends with Kael again.

He had always thought that time would resolve this matter.

But he was wrong.

There was not much time left until the demons began to invade human territory.

Staring blankly at the ceiling, Kael muttered,

"What do I have to do to make you forgive me, Hans?"

Because he could not wait any longer, he took action himself.

Kael had done a lot of things, enough to make a normal person moved.

For example, intentionally greeting him.

Smiling more at him.

Creating seemingly unexpected encounters that turned out to be pre-arranged.

Cooking for him.

Taking the initiative in everything, something Kael had never done before.

That alone was enough to prove his sincerity.

Yet, the protagonist was like an iceberg.

Up until now, no matter how hard Kael tried, he always maintained an attitude that couldn't be more cold and indifferent.

"..."

Maybe... everything was enough.

Maybe... there was no more chance between him and Hans.

Feeling exhausted, Kael decided to give up on this.

Standing in front of Hans's room door, he really didn't know what to do.

He had done this many times, just so he could see the protagonist more often.

But all Kael got in return was nothing.

Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"..."

There was no response from inside, even though he knew that Hans was inside and had heard the noise.

But now, that no longer mattered.

"Hans, I have something to say."

"..."

"...I feel like you don't want to see me. Like you want me to get out of here, out of your life as much as possible. Am I… right?"

"..."

Another uncomfortable silence.

"I'll take silence as consent."

"..."

That seemed to be the case.

"Hah."

Feeling like a clown, Kael laughed sarcastically and bitterly.

"If you don't want to see me that much, then fine. I'll do as you wish."

"..."

"I'll disappear from the Voidveil Empire, out of your sight for the time being, and go to a village called Olive, which is located very close to the edge of human territory."

"..."

He didn't even receive a single farewell from the protagonist, let alone any attempt to stop him.

"Well then, goodbye."

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